


Tales from the Apartment, Part I

by Mocha (whostolemypenname)



Series: Tales from the Apartment [1]
Category: Half Life Trilogy - Sally Green
Genre: Coffee shop therapist AU, Eventual Nabriel, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 23:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4117930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whostolemypenname/pseuds/Mocha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fain AU. Nathan is looking a bit down; a stranger (Gabriel) begins the thankless task of talking to him. They become friends, and maybe something more...</p>
<p>Romance! Drama! Coffee! Mortal Peril! Excitement! Adventure! And A Helicopter!</p>
<p>Disclaimer: not all of the above has necessarily been written yet. Also I might throw in a yeti for the hell of it. And I probably don't own any of it.</p>
<p>The first of a number of stories that all relate, in some way, to the apartment in Geneva.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

Nathan was sitting in the small coffee shop when he met Gabriel for the first time. He sat hunched over on his stool, alone at the small, round, low table, wishing for nothing more than to be left alone. His wish, however, was not to be granted, as someone sat down in the chair opposite him. Nathan refused to look at them, scowling stoically into the depths of his cup, hoping that they'd get the message and go away.

‘Can I get you anything? Something to drink or to eat?’ The man (Nathan can tell from his voice) speaks quietly. His accent is strange. Nathan thinks that it must be Swiss, though it’s not like the other Swiss accents he hears every day. Assuming that the man must be talking to someone else (for why would the stranger speak to him?), Nathan keeps his head down and his eyes fixed on the last dregs of his coffee. At the top edge of his peripheral vision, Nathan sees the man loom larger, and startled slightly as a hand taps his shoulder.

‘Excuse me? Can I get you anything?’ The stranger says it precisely, as if he has been practicing it. Knowing that he can’t ignore the stranger any longer, Nathan scowls and looked up. The man swirls his half full coffee-cup and drains it; he seems a year or two older than Nathan. His skin is olive, and he has shoulder-length wavy hair, dark brown with lighter streaks in it. He’s smiling, lips together, like he’s just heard a really good joke. He’s wearing mirrored aviator sunglasses, with silver frames, that don’t quite seem to match his suit, which looks to be expensive in an understated manner. Nathan decides to make the stranger pay for intruding upon his silence, and casts an eye over the menu, quickly pulling out the most expensive items.

Though Nathan’s reply is biting and sarcastic, the man’s lips press together even more tightly, as if the smile just became a little harder to contain. He seems to have recognised Nathan’s tactic, or he could just be smiling because, when he summons the barista over with an elegant flick of his fingers, he orders exactly the same for himself as well. Resigning himself to the fact that the stranger isn’t going anywhere, Nathan decides to accept the inevitable and pop the question.

Nathan asks, ‘What’s your name?’ The stranger smiles a huge smile, as though it could no longer be contained, lots of regular white teeth.

‘What’s yours?’ Nathan refuses to engage in such childish games, and tells him with what can only be described as a grunt. The stranger is forced to address Nathan’s forehead as he replies, as Nathan has long since gone back to glaring at the dregs of his coffee as though it has done him a great personal disservice.

‘Gabriel.’ Nathan looks up at the unusual name, just as the barista brings over the coffee and pie. Nathan gives her a curt nod, and gives grudging thanks to Gabriel- he hates to feel in anyone’s debt. Nathan looks round pointedly at the rest of the café, which is only three-quarters full; there are plenty of other tables to sit at. Gabriel gives a small sigh, barely more than a breath, and looked Nathan in the eye at the unspoken question.

‘You looked like you needed someone to talk to.’

‘I don’t need to talk to you.’ Nathan cringed slightly inside; it had sounded ruder than he meant it to. Externally, though, he kept up his ferocious scowl.

‘But you need to talk to someone, and I am here. Tell me what is wrong.’ Nathan opens his mouth to tell this Gabriel to leave, then slowly closes it again. It wasn’t like he was going to see the stranger again, or even tell him anything important. Besides, talking about your feelings was supposed to be cathartic or some shit; people paid through the nose for appointments with therapists- it must be worth something. But really, Nathan’s not sure why he decides to talk to Gabriel. He opens his mouth again, tries to start a sentence for the second time, but then shuts it like before- he isn’t quite sure how to start.

‘Take your time,’ Gabriel smiles. If anyone else had told him what to do like that, Nathan probably would have torn their head off. Maybe just an arm, if he liked them. But with Gabriel…it didn’t seem to be an issue.

‘My family… I have a brother and two sisters. Half-siblings, actually. When we were kids, Arran and I used to be really close. But now… he’s at medical school, training to be a doctor, and since I moved to Switzerland...’ Nathan trailed off. ‘We don’t have a whole lot of contact anymore.’ He glares at Gabriel, daring him to say something, anything, but Gabriel just sits in silence. Nathan finds it oddly comforting. Taking a deep breath, he continues. ‘I guess you could say the same thing about Deborah. We always got on well, but I was never quite so close to her as I was to Arran.’ He glances at Gabriel and, upon seeing his look of mild confusion, adds ‘Sister Number Two.’

‘And Sister Number One?’ At the question, Nathan’s ever-near scowl returns.

‘Jessica. She’s a real bitch. Hates me. She’s at university.’ A Silence seems to envelop the two men, the rest of the café seeming to fade away, becoming just a tiny buzz of background noise. ‘I’ve recently started going to the same university, as it happens. Part-time.’ Gabriel makes a small noise of comprehension, laced with sympathy. ‘I thought I’d got away from her when I moved to Switzerland, but after a year or two she came here to study banking. I’d go to any other university in the country if I could, but I’ve got a good job here that I don’t want leave, especially not because of _her_ ,’ the word was laced with hatred on his tongue, ‘but it’s the only university here that’ll let me study part-time and accommodate students with…’ He trailed off. ‘Let’s just say, I’m not the easiest person to teach. So it looks like I’m stuck with Jessica.’

Nathan’s pie had long since disappeared, and the last mouthful of his coffee was growing cold in the cup. He knocked it back just as Gabriel glanced at his watch.

‘ _Mon Dieu_! I’m terribly sorry, Nathan, but I really have to go.’ Nathan looked at him. He hated to ask, to beg something from this man he didn’t know… but he was loath to end the (albeit one-sided) conversation there. Hating himself for asking, he pushed the words out reluctantly.

‘Will…Will I see you again?’ The almost-smile is back, trying to escape the man’s self-control to blossom across his features. Gabriel looks at him, his head slightly to one side.

‘I’m sure that can be arranged.’ A moment’s hesitation as Gabriel’s brow creases slightly. ‘Are you free on Friday?’

Nathan wasn’t, but he’ll be damned if he’s going to pass up a meeting so soon. Friday! It was only four days away. He agreed with the recklessness of a man selling his soul to the Devil.


	2. Second Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan meets Gabriel for the second time. As the talk turns to Nathan's parents and upbringing, the two are interrupted by someone who seems to know Gabriel.

Four. Days. Dragged. By.

Nathan couldn’t get the stranger off his mind. The name Gabriel seemed to resonate with him, like the stranger was his very own angel. By the time Friday finally made a reluctant appearance, Nathan couldn’t wait. He’d cancelled the group he’d arranged for that date; they weren’t happy, but he’d offered to refund double what they’d initially paid him. He’d cursed himself for his weakness and naivety in accepting this ‘free therapy’- turns out it _was_ expensive after all. He should have known. Either way, it was too late to go back now.

He made his way into town from his small cottage in the foothills of the Alps- the rough terrain certainly didn’t help the way that his 4x4 got through petrol the way he got through coffee. This trip was costing him in more ways than one. In its isolated location, Nathan’s house won him the privacy he’d always wanted- no neighbours popped round to offer him cookies when he first moved in, that was for sure! In fact, he reckoned that the only people who’d probably noticed that he was new to the area were the ones who worked in the café- he went there for internet access, which he didn’t have in his cottage (he’d never liked the idea of going to the hassle of setting up a router, network and whatever else he might need), and freshly made coffee when he’d run out of beans for his own machine. That’s what he’d been doing when he’d first met Gabriel- he’d gone into the café to chat with Arran over the net (they tried to arrange chats in advance, as due to the time zone difference and their respective occupations, they couldn’t otherwise guarantee that they’d be online at the same time). For some reason, he found that though his memories of the non-chat were dark, something about them caused the edge of his mouth to twitch up in a smile.

Nathan arrived in town a few hours too early. He always slept with the curtains open in his bedroom, to afford him a better view of the mountains, and he could only surmise that the sun had risen earlier this morning, though it seemed to be rather dark when he woke up. He hadn’t bothered to check the clock- he rarely did, choosing to use the sun as his alarm-clock. There was no reason why he would have woken up particularly early, he told himself, so it must have been the sun. It was the only viable explanation. There was a wholesale store (God, Geneva seemed to have pretty much everything), so he bought a crate of coffee beans and manoeuvred it, with great difficulty, into the back of his car. ‘Car’ was perhaps the wrong word- he’d christened it _The Beast_ not long after he’d bought it. _Monster_ had been in the offing for a while, too. He’d been planning on getting himself a new pair of boots next time he came into town, but he’d been planning on waiting a few more weeks before he returned to the town, having made a bit more money. He resisted the temptation, thinking of how much this meeting was costing him. He didn’t _really_ need a new pair of boots, he told himself. He hadn’t hesitated over the coffee, though. That was non-negotiable, and he didn’t want to find himself caught short, especially if he was snowed in. It didn’t happen often, but when storm season came, the storms hit _hard_.

Oblivious of just how much the season would affect him, he made his way to the same coffee shop he’d met Gabriel in last time (ignoring the irrational twitch at the corner of his mouth), and found he was half an hour early. Plus, there was a bunch of students clustered around the table he’d sat at last time. He felt his good temper recede slightly, particularly as he thought he recognised some of them from Jessica’s classes. No doubt she’d hear about anything that happened. He ordered himself a cheap coffee, knowing that he’d be there a while before Gabriel (who still, to Nathan, felt like something of a stranger) arrived.

Ten minutes later, and the strange bubble of feeling in Nathan’s chest had rapidly started to dwindle. He’d stopped glancing out the window whenever someone with long brown hair walked past, and he’d given up on glaring at every suited male within two minutes. He sipped his third coffee, displaying considerable self-restraint as he tried to make it last a bit longer than the previous two.

Twenty-five minutes and three coffees later, Nathan was forced to conclude that Gabriel wasn’t going to show. He slammed down his cup, throwing a few coins onto the table as he stood up and stormed towards the exit. Jessica’s friends watched him go, which only served to exacerbate his black mood. He was halfway down the street when it happened- angry at the stranger for not appearing, angry at himself for showing up, angry for feeling the way he did about being ‘stood up’ (he had always hated that phrase). He wasn’t looking where he was going, trusting to his height and imposing figure to get people out of the way. It usually worked. This time, though, it didn’t.

Nathan ploughed into the slightly smaller person at full speed, only his instincts stopping them both from ending up spread-eagled on the pavement. A few stumbling steps, and he’d managed to bring himself to a standstill, stay upright, and gather this poor, oblivious pedestrian in his arms to keep them from a rapid introduction to the concrete. Nathan blinked, twice, and looked at the man in his arms, held tight to his chest.

‘Gabriel?’ His shocked incredulity still held a tone of anger, but only a smidgeon- most of it had been knocked out of him by the impact and the surprise.

‘Hello, Nathan. Fancy bumping into you here.’ Gabriel was wearing another suit: dark, good quality (Nathan recognised the feel of worth beneath his rough, callused fingers) and expensive looking, with the same pair of mirrored aviators as before. At Gabriel’s cheery greeting, however, Nathan felt the frustration hit him again.

'You’re late,’ he growled, dragging the two of them upright and letting Gabriel go. His impeccable suit wasn’t even creased.

‘I apologise whole-heartedly,’ Gabriel did seem to be genuinely sorry. ‘Something unavoidable came up at work- I tried to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but it was still an unexpected delay.’ Nathan scowled, but he couldn’t quite muster the corresponding feeling inside.

‘Come on.’

They were back in the café in less than two minutes- Nathan actually saw a barista clearing away his empty cup from earlier and scraping the meagre tip into their pocket with a slightly disgruntled look. Six coffees, and the man didn’t even tip well. What was the world coming to, she asked herself. She saw the man coming back into the shop, and a faint disapproving look was emerging onto her small features when she saw that the man was with the far better-dressed Monsieur Delacroix. That was a different matter.

‘That table looks like it’s just become free,’ Gabriel remarked as he saw the barista disappear behind the counter. ‘Why don’t you go and mark our claim, and I’ll get the drinks. I’ll pay, as I was late.’ Nathan felt a strange shudder at the word ‘our’, which he suppressed, and acquiesced. He noticed that Jessica’s banking-buddies seemed to be staring at the two of them. They didn’t even try to hide their interest. Nathan scowled at them as he made his way back to table he had used earlier, but felt his annoyance dissipate when he realised that not one of them was looking at him; they seemed rather preoccupied with his companion. He dismissed them from his thoughts as he sat down; in fact, he rather wanted to stare at Gabriel himself.

Gabriel returned to the table with two coffees, the same they’d had last time, and slid a slice of pecan pie in front of Nathan. He still looks like he’s trying not to smile. Sitting down, he takes a small sip of his coffee, closes his eyes for a second as if in bliss, and gestures to the pie.

'My treat.’ Something of an awkward Silence grew upon the air. What do you say to a man you’ve only met once before? Someone you know nothing about? Someone to whom you’ve started telling your life story? Gabriel took another sip of his coffee, seemingly oblivious to the inelegant silence. ‘I believe you were telling me about your charming family?’

Nathan gave a small grimace. ‘I think I’ve pretty much said all I need to say about my Oh so precious siblings.’ There was a small Silence. ‘Actually, Arran and Debs aren’t so bad. It’s Jessica who’s the real bitch, and she’s the one I’m stuck with.’ There was a momentary gap in his narration, then a humourless chuckle. ‘The authorities never really liked me much. I can’t _possibly_ imagine why.’ Gabriel’s lips pursed a tad more, as though the sarcasm was testing his self-control; the smile was trying to escape.

‘Did you steal something from them?’

‘I wish it were that simple.’

Gabriel rolled his eyes, mildly exasperated, but asked humorously, ‘Well, what is it then? Did you kill someone important or bed the wrong woman?’

‘No, I was born,’ said Nathan cryptically. He took another mouthful of coffee- it was almost gone.

It seemed completely unrelated when he says, ‘My dad… I’ve never had much contact with him, but he’s the one who’s had the worst impact on my life, I think.’

‘Tell me more.’ The words doesn’t seem like an order; more of a coaxing instruction.

There is a Silence as Nathan tries to order his thoughts, to impose some control upon the turmoil of vivid memories disturbed by Gabriel’s presence. ‘He wasn’t a good person… Arran, Debs and Jessica are his children by his wife, so I was never really a proper part of the team, if you could call it that… He worked for a gang that was trying to move into the U.K… He had an affair with one of his co-workers,’ a small snort of vicious laughter, ‘if you could call her that…’ He sighed, and paused to try and get his story into some kind of order.

As though she’d been waiting for the break in communication, one of the girls from Jessica’s university course stood up and moved purposefully towards them.

‘Excuse me,’ she asked, ‘but would you be Monsieur Delacroix?’ Gabriel confirmed that that was indeed his name.

‘Would it be possible for you to arrange some kind of work experience for me? You see, I’m studying the Global Banking and Finance course at University of Geneva, and…’ The girl trailed off at Gabriel’s annoyed expression.

‘Yes, yes, yes,’ a moment of thought, then Gabriel sighed. He said impatiently, ‘Look, I’ll give you my number, and then if you can call me on Monday- around three should be fine, I expect, and I’ll see what I can do.’ He reeled off a string of numbers into the air, leaving the girl grasping for a pen and a napkin. She hadn’t really thought she’d be successful, Nathan saw. After she’d written down the number, she began to thank Gabriel profusely, but he dismissed her with no more than a curt, ‘No promises.’ As the girl began to walk away, her friends casting furtive glances at Gabriel, he called her back.

‘I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone else the number. It’d be a pain to have to replace it again. Oh, and tell your mates not to bother asking- I’m, ah, catching up with a friend, and I’d rather not be interrupted.’

They watched the girl walk back to the table, saw her talking with her friends, and held back laughs when the two of them saw the heads of everyone at the other table droop, then whip round to stare at Nathan nosily.

‘I’m sorry for the interruption, Nathan. You were talking about your father?’

The interlude had given Nathan some time to put his thoughts in order, and he began hesitantly, picking up speed as his history ran on.

‘My dad… he worked for the mafia in Europe, where he met his wife… Someone made a decision that they, the mafia, should try and establish a foothold in the U.K. He bought a home there and moved in, along with his family- Arran was still just a baby. My dad worked as a hit man, told to bag a number of important police officials to make a statement. A kind of “Welcome” card from the mafia, if you like. In under a year from moving into the country, he’d been caught, arrested, tried, and sentenced to life in jail with no possibility of parole. Looked like the Byrn family would just have to deal with it and move on.’ Nathan sat back in his chair (he hadn’t even realised he’d started leaning towards Gabriel) to have a mouthful of pie, and took a sip of coffee to wash it down (at some point Gabriel had ordered more), ‘And then my mother turned up, eight and a half months pregnant. Turned out she’d been sleeping with my dad for years. She went to jail, too, for working with the mafia… and something drove Mrs Byrn to adopt me. Jessica hated me right from the start. Her mum never managed to find a job, though, and with four kids to look after… She died of a heart attack before the year was out.’ Gabriel moved slightly on his chair, but it gave Nathan the illogical impression that Gabriel wanted to move closer to him. His head was tilted slightly to one side, and his features seemed to be sympathetic- at least, as much as Nathan could see of them behind the large glasses that obscured his face. He took a deep breath and continued.

‘The four of us went to live with Mrs Byrn’s mother, who lived in Wales. Kind of her to take me in, really, when she could have just abandoned me to social services. I doubt I would have lasted two months with them. I was the bastard son of cop-killer and some other mafia bitch- I wouldn’t have ended up anywhere nice, I’m sure of that. Regardless, I spent most of my free time out in the mountains- Wales has some good ones, you see. I grew to love the silence and the feeling of being alone and undisturbed.’ Nathan grinned suddenly. ‘I spent half of my school time in the mountains, too. The teachers hated me- I’d never been easy to teach even before I became a chronic skiver. Jessica still hated me. No change there.’

As Nathan reached what seemed like a natural stopping point, Gabriel’s phone rang. Nathan looked at the table of Jessica’s friends, half-expecting one of them to have called after seeing the break in conversation, but none of them were on their phones. Gabriel frowned.

‘Sorry. It must be an emergency- they wouldn’t call otherwise.’ He placed the device to his ear.

‘Yes?’ A pause. ‘Sorry, he did _what_? Hang on, let me write this down.’ Gabriel pulled a snazzy fountain pen from an inside pocket of his jacket and grabbed a napkin, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder. As soon as the nib of the pen touched the napkin, though, the ink sank straight in, leaving a splodgy, blue mess. Nathan pulled out a simple biro from his pocket and passed it over, Gabriel throwing him a grateful glance. He proceeded to talk with whoever was on the other end of the line in an agitated voice, occasionally stopping to confirm something before writing it down. Nathan saw a number that looked suspiciously like ‘€2,500,000’. He looked away. He’d probably just misread Gabriel’s handwriting; besides, it was none of his business. When the call ended, Gabriel stood up, looking slightly worried and very pissed off.

‘Something’s come up at work- I have to go. I’m sorry to be the one to run off again, particularly as I was so late this morning- can we arrange another meeting?’ Both of them looked at each other for a moment, then started to speak at the same time, then stopped. Nathan gestured that Gabriel should speak first.

‘I, for one, do not wish to wait another four days or so before seeing you again.’ Nathan felt a curious lightness in his chest, but years of living with Jessica had taught him to keep his expression unreadable.

‘Are you free this evening? You’re more than welcome to come to my apartment- we can talk there without being interrupted.’ It was clear that Gabriel meant the friends of the girl who had asked him, bizarrely, for work experience without ever having met him before, as well as whoever was on the other end of the phone.

‘That shouldn’t be a problem. Where do you live?’ Gabriel gave him the address of an apartment in an expensive block of high-rise flats near the centre of Geneva. Nathan was duly impressed, but his face remained blank.

‘Around six?’ Gabriel paused for a moment, thinking, ‘Better make that seven.’ Nathan agreed readily enough- the only problem now was how to while away the intervening hours- preferably without spending more money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for slogging through this seemingly never-ending flood of words- I do appreciate it. I hope you didn't find it completely unbearable. As an aspiring writer, any comments and critiques you make would be greatly appreciated, and I'll make an effort to reply to everyone. I may even accept suggestions about where the story may go!


	3. Third Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan pops round to Gabriel's apartment, only to find disappointment and insults waiting for him. Not in that order.

Nathan didn’t want to risk being late for his meeting with Gabriel, and he was the one who turned up early. Again. If one were to add up all the time he spent leaning on the bell, it would probably made about four minutes; all he achieved in this time was to disturb the old lady in one of the flats over his head. She shouted something about, ‘Clear off, young man, or I’ll call the police!’, then her head disappeared.

‘Hey! Wait! No, don’t call the police! I’m a friend of Gabriel’s. He invited me.’ A friend of Gabriel’s- the line echoed in Nathan’s thoughts, if you could call Gabriel a friend. He could probably count the number of sentences the man had said to him on his fingers. The head reappeared, looking rather suspicious.

‘Monsieur Delacroix does not keep company with such scruffy ruffians as yourself. Go away, or I’ll call the police. I mean it!’ Nathan was growing increasingly frustrated with this exchange- he’d come to meet Gabriel, not to be insulted by old women who considered themselves to be above him (both literally and metaphorically).

‘Look, I’ll call him,’ Nathan shouted back at her, eager to end this exchange quickly- someone else had poked a head out of their window. As he pulled out his phone, a new voice rang out.

‘What’s going on here?’

‘This man says he’s a friend of Monsieur Delacroix. Probably a thief.’

Nathan swore to himself. If the old lady kept this up, he’d have a lynch mob after him in ten minutes. He tapped Gabriel’s number into his phone and put it to his ear.

‘Delacroix, who is this?’ The voice on the other end of the line was irate and stressed, but unmistakably Gabriel’s.

‘Gabriel? Hi.’

‘Who is this?’ Nathan cringed. He’d never been good with technology.

‘Oh, uh, it’s Nathan here.’

Nathan could almost hear the change from Monsieur Delacroix, overworked employee, to Gabriel, the good-looking, sympathetic but mysterious friend. If you could call him a friend. Really, Nathan didn’t know much more about him then the old woman somewhere above him.

‘Nathan! How did you get this number?’

‘The girl in the shop, from earlier… I’m good at remembering that kind of thing.’ As a matter of fact, Gabriel’s phone number came to mind more easily than usual. ‘I was calling because, uh, I’m outside your apartment?’ It came out as more of a question than Nathan had meant it to. ‘Um, and there’s an old lady who thinks I’m a thief. She’s either going to call the police or have me lynched. She called me-’

‘A ruffian?’ The laughter in Gabriel’s voice could be heard clearly down the line.

‘A _scruffy_ ruffian, actually.’ Nathan’s tone was rather wounded.

‘That’ll be Yasmine. She’s nice enough, but rather overprotective. Insists on bringing me food at the weekends like I can’t make my own. Still, free food is free food. Tell her that I said her name is Yasmine, she lives in 221b, her late husband was called Gerald and that I said it was okay for you to go in.’ Nathan did so, and the head retreated, looking rather miffed. The other neighbour followed their lead, and Nathan breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Done it?’ Nathan confirmed that he had. ‘Looks like I’ve saved you from a lynching.’

‘Yeah, thanks about that. But how am I going to get in?’

‘The entry code to the door is 99661. Head to the top floor- there’s only one door. The code to that one is 57632. Do you need to write that down?’

‘Nah, I won’t forget.’

‘Cool. Actually, I was thinking about you when you called.’

Nathan chipped in, ‘Is that why you sounded so stressed, _Monsieur Delacroix_?’ The title was teasing. Nathan blinked. What was wrong with him? He was usually so serious. It probably came of talking through the phone- he wasn’t used to it. He’d never really felt comfortable around technology. Thankfully, though Gabriel didn’t mention it.

‘The thing that came up at work- there’s been a bit of an unexpected problem, something that requires my personal attention. I’m afraid I’m chained to my desk, and it could be a while before I can get away. I’m really sorry- you might want to eat without me; there’s some stuff in the fridge you can have, if you want, and there’s a microwave if you’d care to reheat it. Hopefully I’ll be able to get home by ten.’ Nathan acknowledged all this- he was annoyed that Gabriel would be late ( _again_ , a small, treacherous part of his mind muttered), but he understood that sometimes the unforeseeable turned up to ruin even the most meticulous plans. ‘It’s a good thing you have such a freakish ability to remember things like this- I wanted to call and let you know, but I didn’t have any way of contacting you.’

‘I can only remember numbers,’ Nathan muttered, slightly embarrassed.

‘Regardless, it came in handy. And I suppose I don’t need to worry about you forgetting the door codes.’ Nathan recited them flawlessly. ‘That’s just showing off now. Perhaps we should exchange phone numbers in case of any future problems?’

Nathan could see the wisdom of this plan, and gave his to Gabriel. To his surprise, though, Gabriel gave him a number in return.

‘That’s different to the one you gave me earlier.’

‘That was my work phone. Not many people get my private number- you should feel honoured.’

‘Naturally,’ Nathan muttered into the phone. He heard a laugh in his ear, a split-second image of Gabriel’s smile breaking free flashed across his mind, and the line went dead.

* * *

 

Nathan had thought it unusual that Gabriel’s apartment block used a key-code instead of a regular key, but when he made his way into the building, it seemed more like the logical option rather than an oddity. He made his way up to the top floor in the lift, and saw that there was barely even a corridor, just a small space barely big enough to fit ten people in (but it would be a real squeeze), with an old wooden door to his left. He tapped in the second code Gabriel had given him, pushed it open (it swung upon remarkably easily for a door two-inches thick that looked to be reinforced with steel), and stepped forward into a huge space: wooden floorboards of deep, glossy brown; thick rugs strewn across it; paintings on the walls that reminded Nathan of Gabriel’s suits- expensive-looking, pleasing to the eye, but understated. Seeing how clean everything looked, and a rack of shoes in a niche to his right, Nathan kicked off his battered boots, not wanting to trek mud and dirt everywhere. A quick look at his socks and he took those off too, wedging them in the toes of his boots so it wouldn’t be quite so obvious how dirty they were. His toes sank into a deep rug as he stepped forward.

Nathan spent nearly half an hour looking round Gabriel’s home- simply out of curiosity, he told himself, not jealousy; even though it was only one floor, it was more than twice the size of Nathan’s cabin, which at least was cosier. And it had a loft, he consoled himself. A thorough search of the bathroom revealed a grand total of zero hair products (apart from the standard shampoo and conditioner, though they were expensive-looking makes he didn’t recognise). Nathan had had a feeling that he might find something, but it looked like Gabriel’s hair was naturally wavy. With streaks in it. His big question, though, was how Gabriel could afford something like this. It was huge! The stranger just kept on getting stranger. Nathan had wanted to wait for Gabriel before he ate anything, but his phone rang at half past nine. He picked it up and saw ‘GABRIEL’ flashing on the screen (so what if he’d already created a contact for him? So what if it was number one on speed dial? It was only because he never used his phone), and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

‘Nathan?’

‘Hi, Gabriel.’

‘The thing at work- it’s worse than anyone had anticipated. I won’t be able to get home for hours yet. I’m really, really sorry about this; no one had thought that something like this might come up, it’s a complete _disaster_ ,’ he sighed, ‘but enough of that. Have you eaten yet?’

‘No- I thought I’d wait for you.’ Nathan had come to realise that that plan had gone out of the window, quickly followed by his hopes for- what, exactly?

‘You could be waiting a while, I’m afraid. You might want to eat without me. Actually,’ there was a pause as a thought struck him; then his voice fizzed again in Nathan’s ear with renewed hope, ‘you’re more than welcome to stay the night, if you’re free tomorrow. We can spend the day together.’

The lure of spending a whole day with Gabriel was too much for Nathan to resist, and once again he accepted the inconvenience. He didn’t fancy anything to eat; without the promise of Gabriel’s arrival, he realised that he didn’t feel hungry any more. He didn’t have a toothbrush or anything with him, but found some mouthwash in the bathroom and gargled quickly with that, feeling almost guilty about spitting it into the pristine sink. He pulled off his top and rolled it up to use as a pillow, before collapsing onto one of the sofas. It didn’t feel right to use one of the immaculate spare bedrooms when he’d never even seen the owner of the apartment there. It was a large sofa, but Nathan was bigger- his feet hung off one end, his head the other. He’d thought it would take a while for him to fall asleep, but it was a remarkably short time before his eyes closed for the final time.

* * *

 

It was around half past one- AM, that is- before Gabriel was able to get back to his apartment. It had been a nightmare at the office, but he’d managed to sort out the worst of the problem, and delegation would fix the rest of it. When he let himself into the apartment, though, he stopped short. He hadn’t forgotten that Nathan would be there, but he’d let the work push the thought to the back of his mind, which made a surprisingly large difference to his concentration. When he saw Nathan lying on the sofa, however, it all came rushing back. Gabriel stood over the unmoving body, lifted a hand to his face and pulled off his sunglasses, seeing Nathan for the first time without the tinted glass between them. Turning his back to the man, he walked to the kitchen and checked the oven, before curling his long fingers around the handle of a bread knife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooh, cliffhanger! Don't worry, I expect they'll be fine. Probably. My thanks to Paramore for making the soundtrack to the creation of this chapter, and to you for putting up with this for three whole chapters (I'm assuming you've read the other two). Any reviews/critiques are very much appreciated.


	4. Fourth Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan wakes up in Gabriel's apartment, they have a visitor, then they eat breakfast. It's better than it sounds.

It was late when Nathan woke up. He avoided the cliché moment of ‘Where am I?’, instead opting to go straight for ‘How long have I been asleep?’ He dragged himself upright, then looked at the sheets covering him. Looking around, he realised that he was in one of the spare bedrooms he had seen yesterday. A frown furrowed his brow; he was certain that he’d gone to sleep on the sofa. He got out of the bed, glad to see that he was still wearing his clothes- at least those hadn’t changed too. He strode over to the curtains and threw them open, craning his neck to try and see where the sun was. One of the reasons he liked his cottage was because there were no other buildings around to block out the sun in the mornings- generally in cities and towns, you couldn’t see the sun until it had risen quite high. From Gabriel’s apartment, however, he could see it just fine- there weren’t many clouds, the air was still and cool, and the sun was shining weakly through the window, but it would become stronger as the day grew old. Nathan made it to be about ten o’clock- far later than he’d usually sleep.

He stepped out of the room into the main area of the open plan apartment, looking around him. He could see the sofa where he’d gone to sleep last night, and there was a faint odour of fresh bread in the air. He made his way towards the room that he’d guessed Gabriel slept in (he hadn’t looked too closely, not wanting to intrude overmuch on the man’s privacy), and sure enough, there he was, curled up on the bed and wrapped in sheets. The omnipresent reflective silver aviators were on a small table next to the bed. Nathan couldn’t see Gabriel’s face, but a shudder ran through the mound of flesh and sheets as Nathan opened the door to look in. He’d tried to be as quiet as possible, and started to step away so as not to wake the man, the man who was little more than a stranger, the man whose apartment he’d slept in, the Man.

‘Nathan?’ Gabriel’s voice, tarnished by tiredness, came from the mess on the bed. He still sounded half asleep, and Nathan backed away, intending to let him go back to sleep. Let him think it was just a dream, Nathan thought to himself, finding the idea that Gabriel was dreaming of him strangely pleasing.

‘Nathan? I know you’re there. Gimme a minute.’ Nathan scowled but didn’t move. Neither did the bundle. Stalemate. Gabriel’s voice, slurred by sleep, rang out again more forcefully.

‘Gimme a minute, I said. Then I’ll make you breakfast. And stop scowling.’

Gabriel isn’t looking at him, Nathan’s sure of that.

‘Alright,’ he grumbles, and takes a step back.

‘And shut the door!’

It’s at least ten minutes before Gabriel appears, wearing an old, battered pair of jeans and a faded T-shirt. He’s barefoot, but wearing the sunglasses. As usual. He runs a hand through his hair, pushing it into some semblance of order.

‘Morning. Sleep well?’

‘Like a rock. But I have a question.’

‘Let’s talk about it on the terrace.’ Gabriel leads Nathan into his bedroom, past the messy bed, to the large windows set into one wall. He throws them open, and Nathan sees a balcony that he missed when looking through the apartment yesterday. Stepping out onto the balcony Nathan ignores the chairs resting there, sitting on the floor with his back against the short side of the ‘terrace’, legs running parallel to the longer front. Gabriel throws the chairs into his room and sits on his haunches at the opposite side of the terrace to Nathan. His legs are long but Nathan can see his thigh muscles are thick. His arms are folded and his head slightly on one side. He still has his sunglasses on and his hair is tucked behind his ears.

‘When I went to sleep last night, I’m pretty sure I was on the sofa.’

‘Okay…’ Gabriel doesn’t seem quite sure where this conversation is going.

‘But when I woke up, I was in one of the spare bedrooms. Care to explain?’

‘Do you have a habit of sleepwalking?’ It was a logical question, but somehow Nathan didn’t quite think that that was the answer.

‘Nope.’

‘You sound very certain of that.’ Nathan made a vague affirmative sound. ‘How can you be so sure? I mean, you’d always be asleep at the time.’ Nathan threw him a Look, and Gabriel’s tone becomes lighter.

‘Alright, alright, I admit it- I moved you. I thought you’d wake up with a stiff neck if you slept on that sofa.’ This was impressive, as Nathan was taller and broader than the older man, but he had to admit that his neck had indeed been free of stiffness when he woke up that morning. Gabriel stood up. ‘Come on, let’s go and have breakfast. There’s fresh bread- I took it out of the oven last night- this morning? - when I got home and cut it up. It’ll be good.’ He walked away from the terrace, back into the apartment. He moves silently. Nathan likes that about him.

In the kitchen, Gabriel insists on doing everything himself. ‘I didn’t turn up last night until about half one. Consider this an apology.’

‘Stop that. I almost feel guilty for waking you up.’

‘I was waking up anyway. Besides, if you go looking for something, you’ll wreck my perfectly organised cupboards.’

‘And wouldn’t that be a tragedy.’

Gabriel bustled around the kitchen, flicking switches on the sleek black machine, pulling croissants from one of the cupboards, butter, jam, _whatever_ from the fridge. He had just turned back to the coffee machine when there was a knock on the door.

‘Go and see who that is, will you?’

Nathan set off for the door- it only took him two attempts to remember where it was- and pulled it open.

‘Hello, Gabrie-err… Uh, hello.’ There was a stilted awkwardness as Nathan stood there, looking at the old woman who’d called him a ‘scruffy ruffian’ and a thief the day before. Her expression was faintly disapproving, as though she thought that she should be the one inside the apartment and Nathan should be the one outside. ‘Is Gabriel here?’ she asked frostily.

‘Ah, one moment, please.’ Nathan shut the door and took several steps backwards quickly, half-expecting the old woman to come flying through the two-inch thick steel-reinforced door.

‘GABRIEL!’ he shouted as he ran back towards the safety of the kitchen and Gabriel. Gabriel and the safety of the kitchen, rather. Definitely not the safety of Gabriel’s presence. ‘There’s someone who wants to talk to you- the old lady who shouted at me yesterday and threatened to call the police.’

‘That’ll be Yasmine,’ Gabriel told him.

‘She, uh… She doesn’t seem to like me very much.’ Gabriel did the thing where he pursed his lips as though he was trying to hide a smile.

‘We’ll see. Come on- it’d be rude to leave a guest waiting outside.’ With that, Gabriel set off for the doorway, with Nathan looking rather sheepish but most definitely staying behind the smaller man.

Gabriel threw open the door and embraced his guest amiably.

‘Hi, Yasmine. How are you?’ Yasmine returned the hug with one arm, glaring at Nathan over Gabriel’s shoulder, who backed away quickly.

‘Hel _lo_ , Gabriel _dar_ ling. I’m doing simply _won_ derfully. You must come over sometime, I’ll cook you dinner. You _do_ look like you need some feeding up. And _spea_ king of food, I’ve brought over a little something for you. And _who_ is this young man?’ While her tone had been mostly light and cheery, the last line was accusatory in nature. Nathan made sure to keep Gabriel between himself and Yasmine as she entered the flat.

‘It’s good to see you too, Yasmine. This is Nathan, a good friend of mine. I heard you threatened to call the police on him?’ Yasmine had the grace to at least look slightly embarrassed. ‘Anyway, have a seat. I was just fixing some breakfast.’

Yasmine took a seat in the main area of the mostly open-plan apartment, but when Nathan went to follow Gabriel to the kitchen, the man turned to him.

‘No, you stay here and keep our guest company.’ Was it just Nathan, or was there a slight emphasis on the word ‘our’? As Gabriel turned away to head to the kitchen, Nathan could have sworn that there was a suppressed smile on his face. Cursing the man and his cruel schemes, Nathan plastered an entirely fake smile onto his face and turned round to face his Trial by Awkward Small Talk. He gestured to Yasmine to take a seat on the sofa, and sat down in one of the large armchairs on the other side of the low, glass coffee table.

‘So, uh, Yasmine, how are you?’

* * *

 

It felt like an eternity before Gabriel, the arsehole, finally made a reappearance. Nathan scowled viciously at the idiot as he sauntered into the room with the impudence to look _cheerful_ , God damn him. He sat down on the broad arm of Nathan’s seat, looked at Yasmine and asked, ‘How are the cats?’ As Yasmine proceeded to lecture the two of them on what seemed to be the well-being of each and every single furry fuck _in the entire world_ , Gabriel began to slide of the edge of the armchair and into the seat. He didn’t do it quickly- like the minute hand of a clock, you wouldn’t notice anything if you were to watch him continuously, but short glances every now and then would reveal that he was definitely closer to Nathan than before. As the old woman continued to narrate Mr. Alexander’s sex life, Nathan was uncomfortably aware of Gabriel’s arm sliding behind his back- in particular the elbow, which was digging into his spine. Gabriel pushed his centre of gravity just a little too far and collapsed onto the seat next to Nathan in a movement that was just a little too fast and a little too obvious to go unnoticed. Yasmine stopped short in the middle of her narration, looking rather uncomfortable, but picked up again a moment later.

‘Actually, I came _round_ because _I_ thought you were looking just a _lee_ tle pale, Gabriel dear. I baked you a lasagne- I’m sure you’ll feel _much_ better with something _decent_ inside you.’ A small frown, nearly unnoticeable, in Nathan’s direction made the subtext quite clear.

‘Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.’ By this point, Gabriel and Nathan were crammed together- it was a large seat for one person, but for two? Gabriel’s arm had ended up around Nathan’s back as he slipped, and being half propped up by the arm of the chair, the angle of his torso meant his head was almost on Nathan’s shoulder. It certainly didn’t have anything to do with the way Yasmine left quickly when Gabriel suggested that she stay for lunch.

‘Speaking of lunch,’ Nathan said after Yasmine’s hasty departure, ‘we haven’t even had breakfast yet.’

‘You’re right. _Such_ a good thing Yasmine came round- gave me time to finish getting it ready.’

‘A good thing?’ Nathan said incredulously. ‘You left me alone! With _her_! She hates me!’

‘She does _not_ hate you,’ Gabriel said wearily. ‘Consider it to be professional distaste.’

‘I don’t know what kind of job _she’s_ trying to do, and I don’t think I want to know,’ Nathan muttered to himself. The two of them trooped into the kitchen/dining area, Nathan taking a seat at the large table of unvarnished wood. Gabriel perched himself on the corner of the table, waving an arm vaguely at the spread of coffee, jam, butter, croissants and fresh bread on the table in front of them.

‘Help yourself.’

‘Do you not have any coffee cups?’

‘Actually, I tend to use a bowl.’

‘Novel idea.’ Nathan grabbed a bowl and poured some coffee into it, added plenty of sugar and began to stir it. As he did so, Gabriel took a croissant and slit it open, adding butter and a thick layer of jam. He took a bite off the end as Nathan took the first sip of his coffee, then Gabriel leaned towards him, their faces close together, and thrust his croissant into Nathan’s bowl. Nathan’s breath hitched and he reflexively leaned backwards.

‘Hey, get your junk out of my bowl.’ Gabriel pulled his croissant out, leaning closer to Nathan as he brought it to his mouth. He dragged a tongue across the end of it, before taking it in his mouth and biting down. Nathan quickly took another mouthful of coffee before Gabriel could put anything else in it. Almost as soon as the bowl had stopped touching his lips, Gabriel struck, the half-eaten croissant penetrating the surface of the coffee. Gabriel wiggled his croissant round in Nathan’s bowl, pushing it deeper so it scraped the bottom, and Nathan gave a small sigh as Gabriel withdrew his dripping croissant and put it to his mouth.

* * *

 

The two of them are sitting at the table, having mostly finished breakfast, and Nathan is gnawing on a slice of bread.

‘This is very good bread,’ he remarks. ‘Where did you buy it?’

‘I didn’t,’ Gabriel replies. ‘I made it. As a matter of fact, I was going to make some baguettes later.’

‘Oh really? You want a hand with that?’

‘You sure? You don’t have to help.’

‘No, it’s fine. It’d be my pleasure.’

Gabriel grinned. ‘In that case, then, I’d be happy to have you. I need to pop to the shops to grab some stuff- do you mind waiting, or do you want to come, or…’ His voice trailed off questioningly.

Nathan opened his mouth to reply, then a thought struck him. ‘Actually, I should probably head home, grab a change of clothes, take a shower- all that stuff.’ He sniffed an armpit jokingly, smiling. ‘I should _definitely_ head home.’ The two of them laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'll admit it. I had way too much fun writing the breakfast scene.


	5. Fifth Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan draws a thing, they make some bread, and we find out why Gabriel always wears sunglasses. A bit angsty.

When Nathan got home, the first thing he did was to take a long shower, keeping his mind carefully blank. He tried to force his hair to do roughly what he wanted, brushed his teeth thoroughly, gargled with mouthwash, the works. He headed into his bedroom and threw open the closet, debating what to wear before he caught himself. It was just Gabriel- of course he didn’t need to wear a fucking suit! In the end, he just grabbed a pair of grey jeans with a simple leather belt, a long sleeved T-shirt and the Arab scarf he’d been wearing the first time he met Gabriel. He threw some spare clothes in a bag (just in case, he told himself) along with his sketchpad, some charcoal and deodorant. He threw it onto the passenger seat of the Beast, wincing as he heard some of the charcoal sticks snap, and floored it.

* * *

 

When he arrived at the apartment, he let himself in, tapping in the codes so vigorously he got the first set wrong twice, before he slowed himself down enough to pay attention to what he was doing. Upon reaching the apartment, he discovered that Gabriel wasn’t back yet, so he threw his bag into the bedroom he’d slept in last night, grabbed his sketchpad and charcoal, and flopped down onto one of the sofas opposite the kitchen area and began to draw. First the cupboards, then the scene from the window and the piles of used crockery in the sink, sinking into the bubbly water. He drew the table, and then without thinking, realized he’d begun to sketch the beginning of a person sitting on it. He decided to just go with it, and let his hand continue to draw. He watched as the appendage continued to twitch and flow, moving as though it belonged to someone else. He watched as Gabriel’s form slowly manifested onto the page, every crease in his T-shirt and jeans exactly as it had been earlier, the lips pressed together, trying to suppress that smile of his, and-

‘I have to say, I’m impressed.’ Nathan wrenched his head round, saw Gabriel’s face millimetres from his own, jerked backwards and fell off the sofa with a loud thud. From his position on the floor, he saw Nathan leaning on the back of the sofa, having coming into the apartment in complete silence. Nathan wasn’t sure he liked Gabriel’s ninja-like ability to move in silence quite so much anymore. Gabriel picked up the sketchbook from where Nathan had dropped it on the sofa.

‘You didn’t tell me you’re an artist.’ Gabriel hopped over the sofa and offered Nathan a hand, who grabbed it and pulled hard. Gabriel landed on top of him, the air _huf_ ing out of him.

He drew some oxygen back into his crushed lungs, and wheezed something about, ‘I’m not, not really. It’s just something I do in my spare time.’ Gabriel rolled off him and the two of them stood up.

‘Anyway, you’ve got no right to complain that I didn’t mention something. I’ve told you the best part of my life story, but I know nothing about you except what your home looks like and that you have overly protective neighbours. I think it’s high time you told me about yourself.’

Gabriel grins, abashed. ‘You have a point, I suppose.’ Nathan gives a small snort at this. ‘How about we start to make those baguettes, and then you can ask whatever questions you like.’ At Nathan’s confused expression, Gabriel throws his hands up. ‘You offered to help make some baguettes, I believe?’ Nathan’s expression clears, and he agrees.

* * *

 

‘So, what’s your first question?’ Gabriel asked as he measured out the ingredients. ‘Whatever you ask, I promise I’ll answer honestly and fully. It seems only fair.’

‘Well, I was wondering… You live in this huge apartment, and whenever you’re out and about you seem to be wearing expensive suits. And there was that girl in the coffee shop who asked you for work experience without having met you before… So, what do you do for a living?’

‘That’s an easy question. I’m a banker. Actually- I’m head of the company. I guess you could call it the family business- my grandfather started the bank, and trained my father from the time he was old enough to read, who went on to do the same with me. It’s not nepotism, not really; I’ve been in training for longer than possibly anyone else in the world, so I’m better at the job than anyone else. It made good business sense for me to inherit the company when my father died.’ Nathan smiled to himself- it made sense, explaining the obvious large source of income, the late night work crises, the awestruck look on the faces of the girls on Jessica’s banking course. They’d probably recognised Gabriel from their textbooks.

Nathan was snapped out of his thoughts by Gabriel plunking a bowl in front of him, half full with flour, salt, water and some little brown grains he guessed were yeast.

‘Here, mix this. Use your hands.’ Gabriel had a similar bowl in front of him, and began to do as he had just instructed. ‘I know I’m not supposed to be the one asking the questions here, but how about you? What do you do?’

Nathan grinned. ‘I already told you about how I used to skip school in Wales to spend time in the hills- Well, I haven’t changed much. During the week, and often on weekends, I take groups of tourists up into the mountains. They’re much better here than in Wales. My house is in the foothills, nowhere near anyone else, so I never really leave except to come into town to pick up supplies- coffee, new gear, fuel for the Beast, whatever.’

‘The Beast?’ Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

‘My car.’ Gabriel laughed, checked Nathan’s dough, and added a dash more water. Nathan caught himself, ‘Hey, I’m the one asking questions here. You shut up about my means of transportation.’ They shared a laugh again.

Gabriel passed Nathan a spatula to scrape the dough out of his bowl onto the counter. Gabriel threw some flour over his dough, a layer of it coating his fingers, and instructed Nathan to do the same.

‘Fold the edges of the dough into the middle, like this.’

Nathan followed Gabriel’s instruction, and continued to ask questions. They varied hugely, from ‘Last picture taken on your phone?’ (‘Sunset, about a week ago. It was stunning, and I wanted to try and hold onto a part of that.’), to ‘Favourite pizza topping? (‘Pepperoni’), to ‘What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep?’ (About 32 hours; there was a company crisis. I slept for about 15 hours afterwards, though.’).  After that last one, Gabriel said that Nathan could place his dough in a glass bowl, fold side down, and cover it with a towel. Gabriel did the same with his and bunged the two bowls into a cupboard.

‘Now, we leave it for about one and a half hours, and it should double in size.’

‘You don’t even have to cook it? It just doubles in size?’ Nathan asked incredulously.

‘Well, you have to cook it later. But for now… it just doubles in size.’

They walked into the lounge area together, collapsing onto one of the sofas. Gabriel put his feet up on the coffee table. At Nathan’s faintly disapproving, half-amused look, he raised his eyebrows and asked, ‘What? It’s a footrest.’

‘No, I’m pretty sure it’s a coffee table.’

‘My home. My rules.’

‘Fair enough.’ There was a moment of comfortable silence. ‘I have another question, actually.’

‘Oh yeah? What’s that?’ Gabriel turned his head to face Nathan.

‘Why do you always wear sunglasses, even when you’re indoors? Even in your own home, I’ve never seen you without them, except for when you were in bed.’ Gabriel stiffened, and something about his face said ‘I knew this was coming, and I was dreading it.’ He slowly took his feet off the coffee table, and the friendly silence was rapidly turning into a Silence, the kind Nathan had always hated.

‘When I was in bed… You never saw my face, did you? You never saw my eyes?’ Gabriel asked slowly.

Nathan replied hesitantly, ‘No,’ drawing out the word as though reluctant to let it go.

Gabriel pulled in a fortifying breath, and lifting a hand to his glasses, he curled his fingers around the frames, but didn’t take them off.

‘When I was young- literally, just born- it was common for new-born babies to be put in incubators, to keep them warm. I was born just at the end of this trend, as it were; it was just starting to be phased out. And then it was discovered that this practice could lead to blindness in babies. It wasn’t that common, maybe one in ten, but common enough to be a serious problem, common enough to be noticed. It was too late for me, though. I was blind.’

Nathan kept his expression carefully sympathetic, but inside he was churning with emotion. This was horrific! But he’d seen Gabriel walking down streets, avoiding everyone, remembered that first meeting in the café when Gabriel had said that he looked unhappy- he obviously had the ability to see. While this was going through his head, Gabriel continued his tale.

‘Not long after that, my sister Michèle was born.’ He sighed. ‘Through no fault of her own, Michèle didn’t have a very happy life. She killed our mother in childbirth, and then at the age of six, she was diagnosed with cancer. I never knew the exact details, nor have I ever wanted to, but it hit her hard and she died not long after.’ Nathan’s heart went out to Gabriel, whose voice was ragged with feeling. ‘My father later told me that her last words were “I want Gabriel to have my eyes. I’ll miss you, Daddy.”’ Gabriel’s bottom lip was shaking now, and Nathan saw a small glistening tear drop slip out from under his glasses and run down his face, stopping and starting, travelling in small jumps across the contours of Gabriel’s cheek.

Nathan leaned in close to him, ‘Hey. _Hey_. You don’t have to-’ Gabriel cut him off with a short sharp shake of his head.

Michèle had barely been dead for 24 hours when I had the operation. It’s supposed to have a higher chance of success if it’s done immediately, but I felt like I was stealing from her before she’d even been buried. And when I woke up-’ Gabriel paused here, and slowly pulled off his glasses. The first thing that Nathan saw were Gabriel’s eyes, light brown with flecks of golden green, viewed through a haze of tears that slowly oozed like pus down his cheeks. Then Nathan saw the scars, and realised that those were what anyone else would see first. Each of Gabriel’s eyes had a ragged vertical scar running over it, from just beneath the eyebrow, through the eyelids and down onto the skin below. Nathan leaned even closer towards him and slipped an arm around his back, pulled him close.

‘And when I woke up,’ Gabriel whispered, barely able to get the words out, ‘I felt like Frankenstein’s monster.’ He gave a choked laugh. ‘I always wanted to be able to see the world through her eyes.’ With that, he turned into Nathan’s chest and fell silent. Nathan put his other arm around Gabriel and held him close. He didn’t know how long they sat there for. It could have been minutes or hours; Nathan didn’t know, didn’t care. The apartment grew dark, and Nathan leaned closer to Gabriel. He didn’t know what pushed him to this madness, what made him do this, but somehow he pushed his face close to Gabriel’s and pressed their lips together. Gabriel didn’t respond, and Nathan suddenly realised that he’d fallen asleep, tear tracks drying on his cheeks. Nathan wasn’t upset, just happy that Gabriel had been able to find peace in oblivion. He put his head on Gabriel’s shoulder and he, too, nodded off to sleep, finding peace in the thought that the stranger was a stranger no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad but sweet, I feel. You've put up my babbling for five lengthy chapters, and I thank you for that. The next chapter will likely be a bit shorter, I'm afraid (or you could say that's a good thing, if my writing's really that bad). Reviews and critiques much appreciated. Thanks.


	6. Sixth Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meh. Short chapter.

It was early when Nathan opened his eyes, the sun still below the horizon, and he stayed still for a moment appreciating just how comfortable how was, before he realised that Gabriel’s head was resting on his chest and his own head was on Gabriel’s shoulder, nuzzling the nape of his neck. He jerked away, and with his support gone, Gabriel began to slump forward. Nathan grabbed him quickly. He thought for a moment- he couldn’t leave Gabriel here. He grinned suddenly- Gabriel had dragged him to bed the previous night- he should return the favour.  He found himself faced with the difficulty of having to manoeuvre Gabriel into his arms without waking him up. Somehow he got him off the sofa, Gabriel’s head curled into his chest, and carried the surprisingly light man to his bedroom, depositing him on the bead and covering him caringly with the sheets. As a final, reluctant afterthought, he headed back to the lounge and grabbed Gabriel’s glasses, folded the arms and placed them on the cabinet by the bed. He’d grabbed his sketchpad and charcoal when he’d got the glasses, and now curled up in the corner of the room with them. There was something he wanted to do when he got home, and he wanted to start sketching initial designs.

* * *

 

It was almost an hour later that Gabriel woke up. Out of habit, he stretched out an arm to the bedside cabinet, where his glasses lay, and snagging them on the end of a long finger, he dragged the arms over his face and put them on.

‘You don’t have to keep them on, you know.’ Gabriel twisted around gradually- sleep had dulled him- and saw Nathan curled up in the corner of the room with the pad of paper he’d had yesterday. ‘I’m not going to run away screaming. You can trust me.’ Gabriel ponderously sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. Slowly, so slowly, he curled his fingers around the frames and pulled them from his eyes, revealing the gold-flecked eyes, but also the two, long, ragged scars that split through them. It was the greatest expression of his trust in Nathan that he could have shown.

Nathan closed his sketchbook and lay it down on the floor with the charcoal on top of it, heaved himself upright and crossed the room to sit on the bed next to Gabriel; he put an arm round the smaller man’s shoulders, pulling Gabriel into his chest. Gabriel snuggled into him, breathing in the outdoors smell of pine and fresh air emanating from Nathan’s worn scarf, muted by a night spent in the apartment. Gabriel opened one eye, just for a second, just long enough to see one of his long brown hairs resting on the scarf from when he’d fallen asleep there earlier in the night, then closed his eye with all the finality of that last full stop and drifted off to sleep.

Nathan smiled as the brunet’s head rested on his chest and Gabriel curled into him. He smiled at the beauty of the rising sun. He smiled at the thought of spending the whole Sunday with- wait, Sunday? A string of expletives flew from his mouth; he couldn’t afford to cancel any more ‘expeditions’. Once again he found himself faced with the challenge of getting out from underneath Gabriel’s head without waking him- this time, though, he just wriggled out the way, laying Gabriel down sideways across the large bed. He wedged a pillow under the mound of hair that was Gabriel’s head, tucked the sheets around him, and stooped down to grab his sketchbook. He winced as he tore out a page (he hated doing that) and used a stick of charcoal to laboriously scrawl “Had to go to work. Sorry.” He told himself he’d only take one glance over his shoulder at the bedroom when he left; he took two.

'Goodbye, Gabriel,' he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews? Anyone?


	7. Seventh Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel turns up unexpectedly, half-frozen. After 11,000+ words, we finally get some Nabriel. Sorry it took so long to arrive.

It is a few days after Nathan left the apartment that he hears a loud knocking at his door. He’s never had a doorbell, never thought he’d need one, not here, alone in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. He drags himself out of bed, reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort it represents. He knows that once he’s left, it will lose heat rapidly and even if he can return to it in under a minute, it will be as cold as if he’d never spent the night in it. An idea strikes: he wraps himself in the duvet he uses to ward off the chilly air before he stands up and hauls his sorry carcass to the door. He pulls it open, wincing as the frigid mountain wind wriggles into any patches of exposed skin, and his eyes open wide as he sees Gabriel standing there. He’s so impractically dressed for the Swiss mountains, standing there in his suit and aviator sunglasses, that Nathan would have questioned that he was really there, if it weren’t that he was shivering uncontrollably.

‘Get in,’ he growls, and Gabriel almost trips over his own feet, so eager is he to get into the relative warmth of the house and the protection it offers from the biting wind. Nathan pushes him into the lounge and into an armchair.

‘Stay there.’ With these parting words, Nathan hurries into the kitchen and begins to make coffee the way he knows Gabriel likes it when he’s at home- strong and milky and served in a bowl. ‘What the hell are you doing out here?’ He calls through the house, mindless of the walls that separate them.

‘I was looking for you,’ came the sorry reply, forced out through chattering teeth.

‘On foot? Wearing that?’ Nathan’s tone was shocked, incredulous, but above all, angry. Gabriel couldn’t see the expression on Nathan’s face, but he didn’t need to in order to be able to see the scowl plastered across his features.

‘Are you criticising my suit?’ Gabriel managed to pull a slight smile on to his face as Nathan re-entered the room. The effect was slightly ruined by the unstoppable shaking that wracked his body. Nathan pulled the warm duvet from his own shoulders and threw it at Gabriel.

‘You don’t just walk up a mountain in a suit, goddammit!’

Gabriel looked at Nathan closely for the first time since he’d stepped through the front door. The younger man was angrier than Gabriel had ever seen him be.

‘You could’ve got lost for hours! You could have injured yourself and not been able to get here!’ Nathan collapsed onto the sofa opposite Gabriel, looking straight at him. ‘You could have _died_ , Gabriel!’ His self-control seems to be tested to its very limit, almost about to break, tears ready to creep through the façade of spiky self-sufficiency. Gabriel stood up slowly, his reckless actions weighing heavily upon his thin shoulders. He pulled off his sunglasses, dropping them onto the chair, and crossed the room and sat down next to Nathan, opening up the duvet, wincing slightly as the cold air entered the meagre fortress he’d built for himself, and wrapped the fabric around Nathan, resting his head on the younger man’s shoulder.

‘I… I couldn’t contact you. I tried to call, but your phone said you were out of range. I was worried about you, I thought something must have happened.’ The words poured out of Gabriel, like a desperate sinner repenting to their priest. ‘I checked the news for anything about the mountains, but there was nothing about storms or,’ here, Gabriel’s voice hitched slightly, ‘dead tour groups. I couldn’t call you, and I didn’t know when or even if you’d visit the apartment again. I probably wouldn’t have been there if you visited at any sensible time, I even kept checking the coffee shop in case you could possibly be there.’ Gabriel barely paused for breath between sentences, the words unstoppable as they dripped from his tongue almost as fast as the tears from Nathan’s eyes.

‘You could have _died_.’ Nathan’s voice was hardly more than a whisper; Gabriel almost missed the sentence altogether.

‘To see you.’ The words were quiet, little more than a murmur. Gabriel was shaking, partly from the cold, and partly from the adrenaline that rushed through him- from realisation at how close he came to death or from talking to Nathan like this, he couldn’t tell.

‘ _No_.’ Nathan’s voice was still just a whisper, but the word was powerful. ‘I’m not worth that. Nothing should be. Never pay for anything with your life, Gabriel.’ The older man couldn’t tell if it was a plea or an order.

Gabriel didn’t know where the sudden burst of courage came from; had his mind been damaged by the biting cold of the wind, or was it the adrenaline? He didn’t know, but somehow he was moving his hand to Nathan’s face, first the fingertips grazing the chin, rough with stubble, then sliding upwards, over the tear-trails brought on by the thought of his own death, then cupping Nathan’s cheek, the ends of his long fingers reaching into Nathan’s hair by his ear, and he was pulling Nathan’s head round, closer to his own, their noses skimming past the other, and he was looking into Nathan’s dark eyes.

‘You’re worth it,’ Gabriel whispered against the other man’s chapped lips. ‘A thousand times over.’ And then they were kissing, their mouths pressed together, and Gabriel’s hand slid round to the back of Nathan’s head and was pushing them closer together and Nathan’s arms were wrapped tightly around Gabriel as though he was never going to let him go again and it was bliss, just bliss, and it was hard for them to know if their chests were separated by layers of fabric or if they had just merged together, their hearts beating in unison, and they weren’t two distinct people any more, just one, one glorious, perfect being and there was nothing but the moment and lips and hearts and hair and it was perfect, with nothing better in the _whole fucking world_ and they wouldn’t give it up for anything that anyone could ever offer them, and there was no doubt in either of their minds because they weren’t _two_ anymore but _one_ , just one person, flawless, and there was no ‘I am Nathan’ or ‘I am Gabriel’ but just ‘ _I am Nabriel’_ and it was _completely fucking perfect_ and there was nothing, _nothing_ that could ever come remotely close to this piece of nirvana that was twisting itself through them.

* * *

 

They lay together for what felt like an eternity after those never-ending finite moments. Gabriel’s head was nestled into what Nathan had come to think of as its usual spot, resting against his chest, and Nathan had a hand curled into his long hair. Gabriel listened to the powerful beating of Nathan’s heart, not even two inches from his ear, and the great whooshing of his lungs as he drew breath. The whooshing increased to a roaring as Nathan drew in a deep breath, and Gabriel could feel his head move alongside the powerful chest.

‘How did you find me?’ Nathan’s voice was quiet but deep, and filled with emotion. Gabriel craned his head upwards, then lithely twisted until he was sitting in Nathan’s lap, his chin on the other man’s shoulder, nuzzling his ear. Nathan turned his head until their cheeks lay against each other.

‘How did I find you?’ Gabriel whispered into Nathan’s ear. It felt like it would be a terrible thing to disturb the beautiful peace that surrounded him, held him tightly and kept him warmer than the duvet had done, which was now lying on the floor. Pulling Gabriel tight to his chest, Nathan stretched out to snag it with a finger and pulled it around the two of them. He made a quiet hum of agreement to the question, and Gabriel felt the vibrations shudder across through Nathan’s chest into his heart. ‘You said you’d been adopted by the Byrn family. With one member of the clan in prison, with a first name and surname, it wasn’t too hard to find him.’ A small shudder emanated from Gabriel, which Nathan identified as a laugh. He could feel the oft-suppressed smile creeping up Gabriel’s cheeks, feel the movement against his own. ‘We bankers have always had good connections with the police. Anyway, I was able to find the Byrns, and thus your bank account. I could see where you’d lived, your name, age, when you’d moved and where you’d moved to, everything.’

‘Isn’t that illegal?’ Gabriel could feel Nathan’s stubble scrape against his smooth cheek.

‘Nope.’

‘Are you quite sure of that?’ Nathan sounded very dubious. Gabriel leaned in even closer still, his lips pressed against Nathan’s lightly sun-browned ear.

‘There’s no reason why banks shouldn’t be able to see their customer’s data.’ Gabriel could feel Nathan stiffen slightly with surprise when he heard this and realised the connotations. ‘I own it.’ Nathan gave another rumbling laugh that went straight to Gabriel’s heart, holding him close.

‘Of course you do,’ he murmured. ‘Of course you do.’

Nathan was still tired after taking his most recent tour group into the mountains, and that, coupled with the earlier outpouring of fear and anger and _love_ , served to close his eyes and slow his breathing. It wasn’t long before he drifted off to sleep, holding Gabriel possessively within his arms as he slumped, the strength leaving his arms, one of which slowly fell away from Gabriel’s hair and onto the arm of the sofa. It was the _thump_ of this movement that made Gabriel aware of Nathan’s state of consciousness, having been on the verge of falling asleep himself, and he suddenly became aware of how hot he was, encompassed by Nathan’s arms and the duvet. He made a conscious effort to try and wriggle out of Nathan’s arms, but he was still held tightly. He settled for shoving the duvet off him, tucking a folded corner under Nathan’s head to spare his neck, and resigning himself to having to spend the time in Nathan’s lap. It wasn’t so bad, he admitted to himself, and slumped into the contours of Nathan’s body, exhausted after his trek into the mountains and the close experience with death he had forced his way through.

* * *

 

Gabriel was more than happy to spend the ensuing hour and a half curled up against Nathan Byrn. However, all good things must come to an end, as the saying goes, and Nathan eventually began to stir.

‘Hello.’ Nathan suddenly startled as Gabriel spoke, losing his balance on the sofa and falling onto the thickly carpeted floor. He pulled Gabriel with him as he fell, and they hit the floor before Gabriel could react, to find that Nathan had twisted his body underneath him to absorb the impact.

‘Sorry,’ they both gasped at the same time- actually, it was Nathan who gasped, the air being driven out of his lungs by the impact. Gabriel rolled off him, standing up and offering Nathan a hand. He leant backwards as Nathan pulled himself up, but the bigger man’s weight was still enough to bring Gabriel stumbling towards him, leaving them standing on each other’s toes, chests together. Gabriel was about to stretch up and kiss him again, but Nathan quickly took a step backwards.

‘I expect you’ll want something to eat.’ The thought hadn’t been preying greatly on Gabriel’s mind, but now that he thought about is, he realised that he was starving, and he nodded.

‘Come on.’ Nathan stepped past the older man, leaving what seemed to be a mile between them, heading for the kitchen, and began to pull things out of various cupboards. ‘Is cheese on toast fine?’

‘That would be great, thanks.’ Gabriel turned away to look out of the large floor-to-ceiling window that dominated one wall of the room. Nathan clearly didn’t seem to be comfortable with being too close to him, for some reason. God knew that there had been none of that earlier. It didn’t seem like long at all before the food was ready, and Nathan slung it onto the table.

‘Here.’ Nathan’s speech seemed to be peculiarly short and brusque. Gabriel pulled out a chair at the table and sat down in front of the food, only to find that Nathan sat close next to him, their shoulders brushing. For a second, Gabriel could have sworn that Nathan leant into him, maybe heard the faint whistle he’d become accustomed to throughout the last hour and a half, the sound of Nathan inhaling through his nose. Then, however, he shuffled his chair further away, twisting around on it so that he was facing Gabriel, but further away. Gabriel had a feeling he was about to be interrogated.

He wasn’t wrong.

‘Did you have any reason for risking your life coming to see me? Other than that there’s no phone signal?’ Gabriel leant an elbow on the scarred tabletop as he looked straight into Nathan’s eyes, without the habitual tinted glass to screen them. He’d grown so used to the sunglasses as the years passed, everything seemed so much brighter and more vibrant now he was without them. Or maybe it was just Nathan, glowing brightly, carelessly throwing light across the room the way that personal touches were scattered around the house: the photos on the mantelpiece; the sketches and paintings hung crookedly on the walls.

‘This cheese on toast is very good. What else did you put on it?’

‘Spring onions, paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Also, you’re avoiding the question. Why did you come?’

‘Well, I felt a sudden and explicable urge to have a closer look at the mountains I’ve lived next to for years.’ Nathan didn’t smile.

‘Have you been cured of this wish?’ He couldn’t bring himself to laugh at Gabriel’s feeble joke, as a horrific image of Gabriel’s corpse freezing on the mountainsides with a snapped leg, or even just a twisted ankle, the brown blinded eyes surveying the same stretch of mountainside forever. No, not forever, a small sick part of his brain thought- the birds wouldn’t leave them in his skull for long. Nathan turned away, forcing down the bile that rose in his throat at the thought.

‘Not quite.’ Nathan snapped his head round, eyebrows drawn together, the formidable scowl adorning his rough features as he looked at the younger man, the man who had to have a death wish and a skull so thick that even the simplest ideas could not get inside it. He opened his mouth to- to what? Shout? Plead? He didn’t know, but Gabriel cut him off.

‘I thought it might be good to take an experienced and capable guide with me this time.’ The implications of this took a lot longer to reach Nathan’s consciousness than they should have done.

‘You mean…me?’ Gabriel’s smile was clearly fighting to break free- again.

‘You’re the only mountain guide I know.’

‘In that case, we’d better get planning. We’ve got a lot to arrange.’

* * *

 

They spent the rest of the day planning out the ‘expedition’, as Gabriel liked to call it. He tried to persuade Nathan to use the same term, but no luck. He noticed lots of little things throughout the day. He noticed that Nathan seemed to keep moving close to him, then pulling away. He noticed the number of things that Nathan said he’d like to replace, but then claimed were ‘overrated’ or ‘just a nicety’ upon a glance at a pile of books on a shelf that Gabriel recognised as records of a business’ costs and income. He hadn’t looked at how much money Nathan had had in his account, out of respect for his friend (if that was really the right word), but from the looks of things it didn’t seem to be much. He noticed the way that Nathan’s frown of concentration softened into something strange whenever he looked out of the large window at the mountains he’d made his home in. He noticed the same expression on Nathan’s face whenever he caught the younger man watching him as he pored over maps and lists of equipment they’d need to take. And he noticed Nathan’s embarrassment when he asked Gabriel if he’d like to sleep on the couch, as it was quite late to take him home. Gabriel was careful not to ask why he hadn’t been offered the spare room- he was fairly certain that Nathan hadn’t got one. And he noticed the way that Nathan checked in on him when the younger man believed he was asleep, before he went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallelujah! Nabriel at last! I'm surprised you stuck with me for this long, actually. Sorry for wasting your time. Any reviews/critiques very much appreciated, as usual. Sorry it took me so long to publish this chapter. It's longer than usual, if that's any consolation.


	8. Eighth Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan is being low key angsty again and kinda hurting Gabriel's feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the really long delay between chapters, everyone. I find that motivation is something of an issue, I'm afraid. Hopefully the next one should be up a little sooner, but I'm not making any promises. Also, I'm concerned that I'm getting too ooc, so I'll be reading the series again.

Gabriel’s body seemed to take a lot longer than it should have done to wake up. He lay on the sofa, letting his body slowly accustom itself to wakefulness. He lay on the sofa, his muscles relaxed; feeling rather like the separate parts of his body weren’t attached to each other anymore. The disjointed sack of bones lay on the sofa, feeling blissfully calm as the sun slowly speared through the gaps between the mountains. Gabriel realised that it was a long time since he’d felt so completely relaxed- no matter what he’d done these past few years, he’d never been able to wholly let go of the pressures and worries that came attached to running a major Swiss bank. He realised it was the sun that had woken him up, slipping into the room through the windows that came without curtains.

He knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep, and once he felt that he had awoken to a sufficient degree, he crawled (well, fell) of the sofa still half-wrapped in the duvet. He pulled himself upright, threw the duvet back onto the sofa, and set out for the kitchen with a vague idea of making Nathan some coffee to wake up to. However, he still didn’t know anything about the layout of the apartment, and upon going through a likely-looking door (Gabriel was lying to himself- the door looked exactly the same as all the rest. He had no idea what he was doing.), he found himself in what appeared to be a Parisian artist’s studio. Easels stood everywhere, and half-finished paintings were sleeping on them, with charcoal sketches hanging off the walls. There was one sketch so vibrantly _alive_ that it had flowed seamlessly from the edge of the large sheet and onto the wall itself, covering almost an entire side of the room. There was only one seat in the room: a stool that seemed to be little more than a cushioned seat, a backrest and a collection of screws that could be used to adjust the height and angle of each individual leg, the backrest, the seat, everything. The seat was next to a window that took up most of one wall, just like in the lounge, but the magnificent view wasn’t the thing that grabbed Gabriel’s attention. In front of the stool was another easel, but the painting on it didn’t look like it was resting, it wasn’t a dormant, sleeping canvas like the others. It was awake, and it was watching him. Gabriel felt himself pulled inexorably towards it until he was leaning on the back of the stool, gazing into the eyes that were staring out at him from the constraints of the canvas. They looked so familiar, and then it struck Gabriel with the cold slap of recognition.

They were his sister’s eyes, watching him from all those years ago. The same eyes that he was now using to look at this picture. The right eye on the canvas (Gabriel’s left eye, which was now starting to blur up slightly) was only half finished, just a pre-paint sketch, really, but the level of detail was incredible. Only the eye itself was visible- he couldn’t see his own eyelids in the sketch, just a curved line at the top of the sphere to show where it would be. Just a sweep of pencil, but the way it shook slightly in the middle brought to mind the scars that marred his face, had torn his flesh, dragged across each eye and through the lids themselves. The left eye, though, was a thing of beauty. The pupil was dark, but the black paint that the artist had used glimmered slightly in the light of the rising sun, giving it a liquid, emotional feel, more like a real eye than the ones in his own head. Thin lines of light brown radiated out from it, each slightly different in colour to the ones on either side of it, delicately showing the coloured variation in the iris. It was flecked with sparks of paint, so fine that Gabriel could almost believe they were accidental spatters, of a colour that could be gold, or perhaps a pale green. Gabriel didn’t know how long he gazed into the eyes, watching how the glimmering patterns on the paint gradually changed as the sun rose. When he’d been given his sister’s eyes, one of the earliest things he’d been shown was his face. He’d seen enough lab technicians by that point to know that not everyone had jagged cuts stitched together across their face. It wasn’t long after that first look in a mirror that he’d adopted sunglasses as what most believed to be nothing more than a strange quirk. In fact, the only ones who knew about them were his doctor and a few childhood friends he’d long since lost contact with. And Nathan.

He’d never been able to look at his face without seeing the scars- even at home, he kept the glasses on. It had been years since he’d seen his eyes, which was why it had taken him so long to recognise them. But now- with the scars gone, with his eyes the only thing he could see, they claimed his vision, holding his attention hostage with a knife at it’s throat- there was nothing he could do but to keep on looking.

‘Feeling rather narcissistic today, aren’t we?’ Gabriel literally jumped, his feet almost leaving the ground. He twisted around to see the owner of the croaky voice that had disturbed him, and his eyes (his sister’s eyes?) picked out a bed, something he’d missed earlier amongst all the clutter. Nathan was lying on it underneath sheets picked out to shield himself from the cold after giving his duvet to Gabriel the night before.

'Nathan!’ Gabriel’s voice was rather shocked- he felt, for some inexplicable reason, as though he’d been caught doing something obscene. ‘I didn’t realise you were there.’ He crossed the room in two long strides and deposited himself on the bed next to Nathan, who made a strange movement, leaning minutely towards Gabriel and lifting an arm as though to wrap it round the smaller man and pull him closer, before it changed direction as Nathan repurposed it to shift himself upright and further away from Gabriel. The movement broke his heart, but he hardened his resolve not to ask Nathan about it.

‘So,’ Gabriel said, ‘what plans do we have for today?’

Nathan grinned. ‘First, and most importantly, we have breakfast.’ Gabriel liked the sound of this plan, and said as much as he stood up. He held out a hand to Nathan, who actually seemed to go a little pink.

‘Actually, why don’t you go on ahead and make coffee or something. The kitchen’s the first door to your left as you go down the hall.’ Gabriel’s eyes momentarily flicked downwards at the sheets that covered Nathan’s body, before he agreed and reluctantly departed.

* * *

 

The two of them sat in the car in a rather awkward Silence. Nathan was driving, eyes fixed on the taillights of the car in front, occasionally drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Gabriel sat with his hands on his lap, thinking deep thoughts such as ‘Why can’t Nathan bear to touch me anymore?’ and ‘I haven’t showered in a while, I really hope I don’t smell too bad.’

‘Do you mind if I play some music?’ Nathan asked, turning to throw Gabriel the quickest of looks before he turned away.

‘No, not at all,’ the older man replied. ‘Go ahead.’ Truth be told, Gabriel was actually quite intrigued to hear what kind of music such a scowling hedgehog would listen to. It turned out that the music was as angry as Nathan had been the day before. Gabriel did his best to refrain from judgement.

* * *

 

‘So, I’ll see you on Sunday, then?’

‘I’ll be looking forward to it,’ Gabriel smiled at Nathan. There was a moment of awkward silence before Nathan turned away.

‘Well, uh, bye.’ Gabriel gave Nathan a small wave before he shut the door. He heaved out a deep sigh, before walking to the living room and flopping into one of the armchairs. He liked Nathan, liked him a lot, but after they had shared that perfect kiss, the other man seemed to have some aversion to touching him. Gabriel didn’t want to force himself on Nathan, didn’t want to go too far, but he also _really_ wanted a hug.

And there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Nothing except give Nathan the space he so obviously wanted, and try to subtly hint that he was very much interested in him. Gabriel sighed again and let himself relax, sinking further into the squashy chair. He thought back to time he had spent in Nathan’s house, drawing the layout in his mind and picturing Nathan in it. He could see him sleeping in the bedroom/studio, or sitting on the stool painting the mountains, or the birds flying through the sky. He could see Nathan cooking in the kitchen, making cheese on toast (somehow, Gabriel couldn’t imagine him making anything more complicated) or drinking coffee. He could see Nathan in his lounge, angry music blasting out of hidden speakers (he was pretty sure the speakers were a product of his imagination- realistically, Nathan probably couldn’t afford things like that). When he tried to focus on his bank, like he was supposed to during his ‘free’ time, all that came to mind were the accounting books on Nathan’s bookshelf. Come to think of it, Gabriel couldn’t really see the other man spending hours poring over lists of accounts, charts of income and expenses or market research surveys. Actually, he couldn’t remember seeing any other books in Nathan’s small house. They didn’t really seem like his kind of thing-

The thought of Nathan’s accounting books brought back another memory; the bigger man glancing over at them whenever he said that they ‘didn’t _really_ need those to walk up a mountain’. An idea struck him, a smile spread across his face and he leapt out of the chair. Walking swiftly towards his bedroom, he burst through the doorway and grabbed his laptop from the dresser before getting into bed fully clothed. He opened the lid and quickly tapped in his password with long fingers, before opening up the web browser. Gabriel smiled; he knew what he could do for Nathan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, positive reviews mean more motivation, meaning more chapters. Intelligent critiques mean better chapters. You have been warned.


	9. Ninth Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan and Gabriel go off on their little expedition. Not everything goes according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing this chapter casually yesterday morning when I noticed that it was the three month anniversary of when I started writing this fic. 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice if I posted a chapter today to commemorate that?' I thought to myself. Mistake. Cue manic-writing-in-all-my-free-time mode. Several hours later, I finally managed to get Nathan and Gabriel to go to sleep. They really didn't want to, so you've got the longest chapter yet. Also, I fell asleep while in the process of uploading it, which is why it's a day late.

Sunday hadn’t come soon enough for Nathan. He’d spent the week taking groups of idiots up, down and around the mountains, and he was absolutely sick of them. He wanted someone he could talk to, joke with, someone who wouldn’t make such a huge deal out of being sketched on a piece of paper. Anyone would think he was working for the damn CIA. When the day had finally rolled around, he had woken before dawn to triple check that he had packed everything he would need for the two of them. Once the manic energy had worn off, he’d returned to his disappointingly cold bed to sleep until Gabriel arrived.

* * *

He was woken by the sound of a large, growling engine. Groaning, he rolled out of bed and onto the floor, before hauling himself upright with the bedside table. He stumbled to the door and threw it open, only to be greeted with the sight of Gabriel, grinning like a maniac and sitting in a car that put the Beast to shame. It was enormous (the tyres came up to Nathan’s knees), bright red and had “WEELZ4U” scrawled on the side in huge writing.

‘What,’ he said, ‘the _hell_ are you driving? It’s the tackiest God damned thing I’ve ever seen.’

‘This,’ Gabriel shouted over the roar of the engine, ‘is my chosen mode of transportation through your precious mountains.’ Nathan shook his head at the long-haired pillock’s latest folly as he stepped into shoes he had left by the front door and made his way outside. Walking round to the driver’s side of the Big Red Monster, he peered into the back window, only to find it filled with familiar shapes. He stopped for a double take just as Gabriel killed the engine.

‘Gabriel?’ He shouted, ‘What exactly have you got in your back seat?’ He turned away from the glass and startled as he realised that Gabriel had crept up on him. He took a step backwards, and noticed the involuntary hurt that flashed across the smaller man’s face, and Gabriel wasn’t the only one to feel the effects of this prolonged lack of contact. Nathan was desperate to hold him, to stroke his hair, to kiss him gently, but the last time he’d felt this way about someone-

He cut himself off. Stay positive, he reminded himself, he had to stay positive or everything goes to hell. ‘It’s mountaineering equipment,’ Gabriel said, cutting into Nathan’s train of thought with his pained expression replaced with a careful smile.

‘And why exactly did you bring this? Where did you get it?’Gabriel didn’t want to admit just how empty he suspected Nathan’s bank account was. He could have just taken a look, but he didn’t want to invade his privacy like that. Nathan seemed like the kind of guy who valued his privacy. ‘I bought it,’ Gabriel said in the end. ‘I thought it might come in handy. Consider it a birthday present.’

‘But it’s not my birthday till 21st June,’ Nathan seem vaguely confused, and Gabriel had to go to some lengths to explain the concept of a late present. When Nathan pointed out that Gabriel didn’t even know him at the time of his last time, Gabriel tried, with great difficulty, to explain the concept of compound interest while they carried the equipment inside.

Upon looking through the stuff, Nathan realised something. ‘Why did you bring crampons? And ice picks? Did you think we were going to be climbing Everest? You really have no idea what you’re doing, do you?’ Gabriel reminded him what had happened the last time he had tried to climb the mountain, even if it was just as far as Nathan’s house. If house was even the right word. Cabin might be more appropriate. Nathan turned pink and became a little tetchy, so Gabriel quickly shut up.

‘Some of it must be useful, right? Surely I haven’t screwed up that badly.’

As it turned out, the sleeping bags were warmer than the ones Nathan had. The tent was too, but it wasn’t suitable to the kind of weather Nathan thought they might run into. ‘I’m legally obligated to let you know that it’s storm season. There’s a possibility that we’ll run into bad weather, but it’s unlikely.’

‘If you think it’s safe, I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ Gabriel replied. ‘Now, shall I fill these up, or are they not good enough for you, Mr. Mountain Ranger?’ Nathan looked over to see Gabriel holding up four shiny new Thermoses. He grinned.

* * *

At last they were ready. Nathan had finished repacking the bags- naturally, everything that had to be replaced was at the bottom. Furthermore, Gabriel had objected to the weight difference between their bags, complaining that it was unfair that Nathan’s was considerably heavier. He brooked no argument on this, insisting that Nathan repacked to spread the load more evenly. Eventually, Nathan caved in and threw tins of food into his bag until it had a more even load. ‘Did we not need that already?’ Gabriel asked, slightly concerned.

‘Nah,’ Nathan dismissed his fears. ‘I’ve already got a small stockpile up there- I’ll just add it to that. Thanks for volunteering to carry it.’ When Gabriel picked up his bag again, he looked like he was regretting his generosity. ‘Come on,’ Nathan said. ‘We’re late.’

‘We had a schedule?’ Gabriel asked, surprised. When no answer was forthcoming, he tried again. ‘Where are we going, anyway?’

‘Somewhere I go when I’m looking for peace.’ Gabriel interpreted this as ‘peace and quiet’, and shut up.

For approximately five minutes.

‘Oh no!’ He suddenly burst out. ‘I’ve forgotten to bring any spare clothes. He almost wished he hadn’t said it. Nathan looked really quite angry now, and Gabriel almost wished he hadn’t said anything at all.

‘I’ve got some stuff up at the…place where we’re going,’ Nathan grunted. ‘You can wear that.’ Gabriel thanked him a little sheepishly, then shut up. They continued to walk in silence.

* * *

Gabriel’s back was really aching under the weight of his pack by the time Nathan said they could stop for lunch. Gabriel just heaved a huge sigh of relief and let his legs collapse under him, crashing onto his butt. ‘Careful! There’s breakable equipment in there.’

For a moment Gabriel thought Nathan meant his butt, but then he thought of the crash his pack had made at the jolt. He cringed as he shrugged out of the straps, and muttered an apology as he rolled onto his back. Lying on the straggly grass, he gazed up at the sky, which was a cloud-free, pale blue. ‘I’m not very good at this, am I?’

Nathan had sat down by now, and his scowl softened. ‘Hey, don’t sweat it,’ he remarked. ‘You haven’t done this before, not really. Everyone makes mistakes. I won’t hold it against you.’ Gabriel’s shoulders seemed to relax, and he gave a small smile. ‘Now, what do you say we have some lunch?’ Gabriel’s smile grew bigger still, and he sat up.

‘Now you’re talking!’

* * *

Dusk was beginning to rain down upon them, and the two men were still walking up the mountain along a series of large rocks that had sunk into a gully. Gabriel had complained lightly (whinged, Nathan said) about how long it was taking them to get to this peaceful place of Nathan’s, to which Nathan had replied that he was sure they’d be there by now if Gabriel wasn’t so slow. Gabriel had objected that this was incredibly unfair as Nathan spent his entire professional life and the most part of his private life tramping around these mountains. However, they’d lapsed back into silence when it happened. Behind him, Nathan heard the sound of a shoe slipping, a cry of surprise from Gabriel and a heavy thud, the clattering of equipment and a gasp of pain. In an instant he had spun around to see Gabriel lying on top of one of the rocks, his mouth screwed up in a grimace of pain. Nathan leapt back across onto the rock Gabriel was lying on. ‘Gabriel! What’s wrong? What happened?’

Gabriel seemed to take a moment to gather his strength. ‘I got my foot stuck between two of the rocks and slipped. It’s still stuck.’ Nathan twisted round to see what he had missed before- Gabriel’s foot was twisted round at an angle, his shoe wedged between two of the rocks. Nathan threw his backpack to the floor and slid down in to the gully.

‘I’ll try to move the rock. Can you lift it out?’

Gabriel nodded grimly. ‘I can try.’

That was all the confirmation Nathan needed. He threw his back against the boulder, lifting his feet off the ground to brace them against one of the other rocks. The muscles in his legs burned, his heart beat faster, but he sucked in more air between his teeth and groaned as he put every bit of energy he had into _moving that fucking rock_. Gabriel gave an involuntary moan of pain as the boulder shifted, the sound cutting into Nathan’s internal mantra of _move the rock, save Gabriel, move the rock, save Gabriel_. He almost didn’t hear Gabriel shouting down at him. ‘Nathan! Nathan! I’m free!’ With a groan of effort, Nathan released the boulder and it thudded down into its original position. He scrabbled up the side of the rock and over to Gabriel’s side.

‘Don’t move. Where does it hurt the most?’

‘Well, maybe it’s my ankle, you idiot.’ Gabriel seemed ever-so-slightly slightly miffed at the question.

‘Okay, okay. But I’m supposed to ask anyway. I _am_ a trained medic, you know. You could’ve broken a rib in the fall.’ Gabriel had to admit that this was a good point, and it was reassuring to know that the person looking after him had been trained. Reassuring to know that it was Nathan looking after him. Nathan had gently pulled up his trouser leg by this time and was examining Gabriel’s foot. ‘I think you’ve sprained it.’

Gabriel tried to ignore the “I think” part of the sentence. ‘A sprain- that’s not too bad, right?’

‘Don’t be so sure. They can be just as bad as a break. I’d recommend that you take your shoe off not while you still can- it’s probably going to swell up soon.’ Gabriel had to admit that Nathan certainly sounded like he knew what he was doing. A thought struck him.

‘How are we going to get to… wherever it is we’re going now that I’ve done this?’ Nathan didn’t hesitate for a moment.

‘You can lean on me. You’ll have to hop. Fortunately, we’re not far off now. Nathan pulled a small bottle of antiseptic gel out of his bag. ‘We’ll have to clean those cuts on your hands first, though.’ Gabriel hadn’t noticed over the pain in his ankle, but now he looked at his hands, he saw that they’d been scraped badly when he held them out to protect himself when he fell. They throbbed nastily, even more so when Nathan rubbed the gel on. Despite the stinging in his palms, Gabriel still noticed how rough Nathan’s hands were, and how gentle they were with his.

* * *

‘Come on,’ Nathan said encouragingly. ‘You can do this. I know you can.’ Gabriel gathered his strength and leapt from the final rock back onto the earthen path, Nathan catching him as he landed. Gabriel spent a moment enjoying the comfort, the safety of Nathan’s arms before the taller man lay him down on the ground. ‘Wait here for a second. I’ll go and get the bags.’

When Nathan returned, Gabriel was lying where he’d been left, eyes closed. ‘Hey. Hey!’ Nathan shook him gently. ‘You can’t go to sleep. We’re almost there.’

‘I’m not sleeping. I was just resting my eyes.’ Gabriel didn’t see Nathan’s fleeting smile.

‘Come on,’ he said. ‘You can rest your eyes when you get there.’ Gabriel’s eyes flickered open and he grabbed Nathan’s outstretched hands with his. Nathan pulled him upright and threw the smaller man’s arm over his broad shoulders. ‘It’s just over that rise.’

‘It’s that close?’ When Nathan nods, Gabriel is a little annoyed. ‘And you didn’t think to mention this before because?’

‘I wanted it to be a surprise,’ Nathan said quietly.

‘What about the bags?’

‘I’ll get those when I’ve got you comfortable.’

They set off with an irregular, three-legged gait towards the rise. Gabriel was having a particularly hard time of it, gasping in pain whenever his foot hit Nathan’s leg or jarred on the ground. Pretty soon, Nathan had had enough and scooped Gabriel up in his arms.

‘Hey, what are you doing? Put me down.’ Nathan shook his head grimly.

‘You hired me to protect you, Gabriel, and that includes protecting you from yourself. I’m not going to let you walk. No self-respecting doctor would.’ Gabriel was about to object further when he realised just how closely Nathan was having to holding him. This was the most physical contact Nathan had allowed in days. Gabriel tucked his head into Nathan’s shoulder. He’d forgotten how good it felt.

It wasn’t long until Nathan announced, ‘We’re here.’ Gabriel looked away from Nathan’s shirt, the weave of which had become oddly captivating as he was carried along. The way it rippled as Nathan moved was not uninteresting, either. Looking out, he saw the ruins of an old structure: blocks of stone lay scattered around in such a way that, when looked at with a little less focus, started to become walls; that circular ring could be a tower- then Gabriel realised what it was.

‘It’s a castle,’ he whispered.

‘More of a stronghold, really. No self-respecting castle would be this small. I found it one day while I was walking the mountain. I can’t find it on any maps, so I doubt anyone else knows about it. I’ve certainly never seen anyone else here. It’s where I go when I want to be alone, to be left in quiet and draw.’ Gabriel’s ankle hurt too much for him to be able to process the connotations of this. Nathan strode confidently into the ruins, and Gabriel could feel the difference as he crossed from the scrubby grass onto an ancient stone floor. ‘I’m going to need you to stand up for a second while I get you somewhere to rest. Can you handle that?’ When Gabriel didn’t reply, Nathan looked down to see that the older man had nodded off against his chest. Nathan sighed and began the difficult process of trying to lay Gabriel down comfortably without waking or hurting him.

* * *

Gabriel woke up alone. Lifting his head to look around, he saw that he was lying on an unfurled sleeping bag. His leg was lifted up, lying on top of a stone block that had once been part of a wall. He supposed he had to keep it elevated. Gabriel gingerly propped himself up on his elbows. There was no sign of Nathan, nor was there a trace that anyone else had ever been there except for the sleeping bag he was lying on. ‘Nathan!’ He called, but no one came. He raised his voice and tried again, but there was no response. Gabriel forced himself not to panic, but it was little help. His heart beating fast, he tried again. ‘NATHAN!’ He screamed at the top of his lungs. Just as he was starting to hyperventilate, he heard someone faintly shouting his name. It was Nathan, he was sure of it.

‘Don’t worry, Gabriel, I’m coming!’ Half a minute later he heard heavy footsteps and saw Nathan sprinting into the ruins, one of their bags on each shoulder. He dropped them on the ground and skidded to Gabriel’s side. ‘I’m here,’ he gasped. ‘What’s wrong?’

Gabriel sank back onto the sleeping bag, his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. ‘When I woke up, I couldn’t see you. I didn’t know where you were. I… I panicked.’ A strange look crossed Nathan’s face- compassion and something else Gabriel couldn’t quite place.

‘I wouldn’t leave you,’ Nathan said, and Gabriel could see in his eyes that he truly meant it. ‘I would never leave you.’ They stayed like that until Nathan began to feel the bite of the cold. He knew Gabriel must be feeling it too. ‘I’m going to go and set the tent up now. Call if you need anything. I won’t be far away.’ When Gabriel had agreed to this, he set off into the ruins at a jog, heading for the waist high ring of stones that used to be the tower, the highest that any of the ruins now rose to. Inside the tower, if it could still be called that, was a pile of equipment he had built up over a series of trips to make journeys into the mountains easier. He grabbed the tent and swiftly set off back to Gabriel.

‘Hey, buddy. I’m just going to set this up in what used to be the courtyard, okay? There’s grass there, it’ll be more comfortable to sleep on.’ Gabriel opened his eyes to see Nathan’s face above his. All Gabriel can do was look into his eyes and smile before he falls asleep again.

* * *

It was dark when Gabriel awoke, but he could see enough to work out that he was in a tent, lying on top of the same sleeping bag as before. He sat up and looked at the tent opening by his feet, only to find it was open. He could see the flickering light of a fire through the opening. Gabriel shuffled along the length of the tent and stuck his head out. The tent had been set up on a grassy patch of ground, which Gabriel assumed must be the courtyard. Just beyond that he could see Nathan’s back as he sat on a log, and just beyond him was a fire burning on the paving stones. Gabriel manages to crawl out of the tent and haul himself upright, leaning heavily on a nearby stone block. He hops over to Nathan, who is gazing into the fire. Gabriel stands there for a moment, then without thinking, puts a hand on Nathan’s shoulder. The other man’s reaction was completely unexpected. He flinched away from the contact, cringing away from Gabriel, the breath catching in his throat. Gabriel snatched his hand away, then holds them both up in a gesture of surrender. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…’ He trailed off. ‘I won’t do it again.’ Gabriel felt crushed inside. Despite the events of earlier, Nathan still seemed unable to touch him. The smaller man sat on the log, then swung his legs over so he was facing the same way as Nathan. ‘I won’t do it again,’ he repeated quietly, and it took everything he’d got to stop the tears from forming in his eyes.

Nathan seemed to have relaxed a little by now. ‘It’s not your fault,’ he said, and Gabriel looked over at him with a small burst of hope. ‘There’s more about me that you ought to know,’ Nathan admitted. He sucked in a deep breath, then seemed to sag. ‘I…’ he trailed off. He seemed to take a moment to gather himself, then braced himself and started again. ‘When I was young, staying with the Byrns, there weren’t many people I could…rely on, I guess. I could trust Arran, and Debs was alright, but Gran was always quite distant- I think she blamed me, in some ways, for what had happened to her daughter. Jessica was a bitch.’ Nathan paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, the firelight flickering on his face as he sat, hunched over. ‘We all went to the same school, when we reached that age, and by the time I got there, everyone hated me, no small thanks to Jessica. I…It wasn’t easy.’ Gabriel’s heart went out the younger man, thinking of the years spent with only his demons for company. ‘There was only one person I could…I thought I could count on. A girl named Annalise.’ Gabriel hated her already. ‘On the first day of school she came over to me, started a conversation. She was the only person to do that. Everyone else found an excuse to turn their backs whenever I walked past.’ Gabriel’s mind flashed up a sudden, absurd image of a small, lonely boy, standing in an endless concrete hallway with overhead cruel fluorescent lights, and people lining the walls, all with their backs to Nathan. It was not a cheery thought.

‘Anyway, I thought we had become the best of friends. It grew from there. The occasional brush of fingers, a kind word here and there. I fell in love.’ Gabriel had to actively stop himself from curling his hands into fists. Nathan stopped for what seemed like an eternity, frozen, reliving memories that should never have been disturbed. ‘She didn’t,’ he said shortly. ‘Turned out she’d just wanted to get close to me from the beginning, because Jessica had told her to or something. When she eventually invited me round to her house for the first time, her three brothers were waiting. It was painful.’ Nathan’s voice, growing huskier as he continued, cracked on the last word. Gabriel could see the tears in his eyes. ‘I don’t like getting close to people. End of story.’ Gabriel couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He shifted towards Nathan, putting a hand gently on his shoulder, trying to convey some part of the regret he felt at ever having made Nathan relive this, the hatred he felt for those that had done this to him, all through this simple touch.

‘I can’t promise not to hurt you,’ Gabriel said quietly. ‘But I promise I’ll try to make you happy.’ Nathan looked at him, truly looked at him, and saw the sincerity in his eyes, as well as something that went far deeper than words. He felt a huge surge of emotion welling up inside him, and blinked hard.

‘Thank you,’ he murmured. So tentatively that the movement almost seemed to be born of fear, Nathan stretched out an arm around Gabriel’s waist. The smaller man recognised what a gesture of trust this was for Nathan. Gently, he slid his hand around the younger man’s back, and as Nathan laid his head on Gabriel’s shoulder, he gazed into the fire and smiled.

* * *

They had had a dinner of tinned food heated up over the fire, eaten out of hot cans passed between the two of them. It was hardly the standard of cuisine Gabriel was accustomed to, but the sharing of the food made it surprisingly intimate. They didn’t talk, but after Nathan’s confession, Gabriel didn’t feel like he had anything to say. Eventually, it was Nathan who broke the silence after they’d finished the food. ‘I’m going to get something to drink. Want anything?’

‘Just water, thanks. Unless you’ve got some brandy?’ Nathan gave a small laugh at that.

‘Fat chance. It’s water and beer, I’m afraid.’

‘I’ll stick to water, thanks.’

* * *

It was late that night when they decided to go to bed. The fire had burnt low and there was no other light except the stars, which were incredibly clear. That’s what happens when you take away the light pollution of the city, Gabriel surmised. There was only the one tent, but it was big enough to fit two men in their puffy sleeping bags without much trouble. The only argument they had was who would have to stretch down to the far end of the tent to zip it up. Gabriel lay on his back with his hands by his side, and he thought of the stars that were blocked from his view by the fabric of the tent. He thought of Nathan’s childhood, a painful upbringing at the hands of Jessica. He thought of Nathan’s father, serving his time in prison. He thought of Deborah and Arran- they’d never met, though he liked them well enough, the only people portrayed favourably by Nathan’s narration of his past. He thought of Nathan, his usual scowl softened into a hint of a smile, his spiky hair sticking up in all directions. And just before he went to sleep, he felt the man of his dreams reach out to him and take his hand. And Gabriel just held it as he slowly and peacefully drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind reviews mean more chapters. Critical reviews mean better chapters. Ta.


End file.
